MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. (AP) - Martina Hingis tossed her racket in a pique of anger before settling down to beat No. 7 Barbara Schett 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-3 Friday in quarterfinals of the Acura Classic.

Schett led 5-3 and had a set point before the second-seeded Hingis hit a backhand winner in the corner to tie the opening set 6-6. Schett, the world's 13th-ranked player, led 5-0 in the tiebreaker when Hingis began her rally.

Hingis hit consecutive forehand winners to close to 6-5, then sent a forehand long to lose the tiebreaker.

``I just tried to hang in there,'' she said. ``When I broke her to go up 3-1 in the second set, I started believing in getting the match turned around on my side.''

Schett broke Hingis with a backhand winner on the line to pull to 3-2, prompting Hingis to fling her racket across the court toward her chair on the changeover. Schett held serve for 3-3, then Hingis reeled off seven straight games to win the set 6-3 and take a 4-0 lead in the third.

Schett served a love-game, then broke Hingis and won another game to trail 4-3. She led 30-love on Hingis' serve, but she netted two consecutive forehands. Hingis served an ace and Schett sailed a backhand long as her opportunity slipped away.

``I wasn't aggressive. I tried to be, but I missed too much,'' Schett said. ``When you play against her, you know why she's number one because she's always playing better at the big points. She anticipates very well and she's always there.''

Top-seeded Lindsay Davenport played Conchita Martinez of Spain in the night match.

The day's matches were overshadowed by Steffi Graf announcing her retirement in Germany. Many of the players were surprised at the timing, with some expecting Graf to quit after the U.S. Open later this month.

``I never really liked playing her because I lost most of the time,'' said Hingis, who was 2-7 against Graf in her career.

In 1995, Hingis was 14 the first time she played Graf in the quarterfinals of a tournament in Paris. She lost in straight sets.

``When I played her she was No. 1 in the world. You always want to beat the No. 1, but I barely had a chance in the beginning,'' Hingis said. ``She just killed me always.''

Schett could say the same thing about Hingis, although the Austrian is getting closer. She lost a three-setter to Hingis early this year in Sydney and got beat 7-5, 7-5 at the German Open in May.

``I have the game to beat her,'' Schett said. ``I like to play against her because she's not hitting the ball very hard, like Davenport and (Venus) Williams. I always have my chances and maybe next time.''

Hingis advanced to Saturday's semifinals against sixth-seeded Serena Williams, who beat No. 4 Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario in straight sets Thursday.

No. 3 Mary Pierce was upset 7-5, 6-2 by Julie Halard-Decugis of France, who has beaten her countrywoman in all three of their career meetings.

``Terrible,'' Pierce said of her play. ``I kept making the same mistakes over and over. Julie has a very erratic game. We don't have any long rallies. There's just a winner or a mistake from either of us.''